Dr Samantha Ashby

Career Summary

Biography

Dr Samantha Ashby is a lecturer in occupational therapy in the School of Health Sciences. Her areas of research include investigating the strategies for improving the professional resilience in the mental health workforce, occupation-based practice in mental health, and the translation of theoretical knowledge into occupational therapy curricula and practice settings. She also has an interest in the ways in which practice education and other aspects of the curriculum impact on professional identity. She currently a PI on a national Department of Health grant which is an RCT to review the use of simulation in occupational therapy curricula.

Her research contributes to the health care industry through increasing understanding of the nexus between theory and practice and how this impacts on occupation-based practice, professional identity, professional resilience and retention in the workforce. This contributes to professionals’ clinical work by raising awareness of the strategies required to combat the impact of dominant discourses in practice for clinicians, managers and educators. Dr Ashby’s research on the inclusion of theoretical knowledge in curricula and its transfer into practice is central in the international debate on current OT practice and is cited by scholars working in this area and is included in 6 recent RHDs dissertations.

Dr Ashby has a passion for undertaking research which can be translated into making improvements to service-users lives. Throughout her career she has gained extensive experience as an occupational therapist in senior and managerial roles in the health and social care industry across a range of practice areas including mental health, physical rehabilitation and occupational rehabilitation. She has worked as a senior academic at Coventry University and is currently a member of the occupational therapy discipline within the School of Health Sciences at the University of Newcastle. Dr Ashby provides workshops for clinicians for her professional peak body, OT Australia in the areas of Professional Resilience, and the Application of the Model of Human Occupation and Its Assessment Tools in Practice. She is also trainer for the Canadian Model of Occupational Performance and Engagement, and the Kawa Model.

Since graduating as occupational therapist in 1987, Dr Ashby has continued her education while working as a clinician and educator and she holds a PhD in Occupational Therapy (University of Newcastle) her dissertation was titled “The theoretical knowledge used and valued by occupational therapists in mental health practice: Influences and applications”. In 1998 she completed a Research Masters in Occupational Therapy (University of Sydney) where she investigated the impact of chronic low back pain on occupational engagement and participation in the long-term unemployed population involved in a work-conditioning program. She also has a Post-Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning (Coventry University), a BSc (Hons) in Remedial Health Sciences (Coventry University) and a Diploma in Occupational Therapy (London School of Occupational Therapy – now known as Brunel University).

Dr Ashby's primary research areas focus on ways to improve the translation of research into the health and social care industry:

to improve professional resilience in the health and social care workforce

to understand the issues shaping professional identity of health professionals and its impact on inter professional team work and service provision in the mental health workforce

to explore the factors which shape the translation of different forms of knowledge into practice.

to further understanding how to use occupation-based practices through the utilisation of occupation-focused models such as the Canadian Model of Occupational Performance and Engagement, Kawa Model, the Model of Human Occupation, Vona du Toit Creative Therapies.

to explore the efficacy of creative therapy in mental health practice

Educational research

Within educational research she has received an ALTC grant which reviewed the use of IPAD technology and software to report and provide feedback to students following Observed Structured Clinical Examinations (eOSCES). In 2011, she represented the University of Newcastle in an ALTC funded project which aimed to engage emerging OT academic leaders in a community of practice designed to build capacity in curriculum development and renewal.

Teaching Expertise

Dr Ashby is committed to high quality education with the Bachelor of Occupational Therapy rated within the top 5% of programs at UoN. She has designed and taught the year one foundational courses since 2010. These courses OCCT1110 Introduction to Occupational Therapy Theory and OCCT1201 Introduction to Occupational Therapy Practice Skills introduce students to the profession of occupational therapy through the use of case based learning and a two week practice education experience. Within the program she has also taught Motor and Processing Skills, and Psychosocial and Mental Health Occupational Therapy. In addition she has taught into interprofessional courses on research methodology and an introduction to statistics for health professionals.

Qualifications

PhD, University of Newcastle

Diploma of College of Occupational Therapists, College of Law

Master of Applied Science (Occupational Therapy), University of Sydney

Keywords

Healthy lifestyle advice: transfer of theory to practice

Introduction to occupational therapy theory and skills

Mental health practice

Motor and processing abilities

Professional Resilience

Program design and evaluation

Theory to practice

Use of theoretical knowledge in practice

â¢ Development and maintenance of professional resilience and identity

â¢ Practice knowledge in Occupational Therapy and curriculum design

Fields of Research

Code

Description

Percentage

110321

Rehabilitation and Therapy (excl. Physiotherapy)

50

110399

Clinical Sciences not elsewhere classified

25

130299

Curriculum and Pedagogy not elsewhere classified

25

Professional Experience

UON Appointment

Title

Organisation / Department

Lecturer

University of NewcastleSchool of Health SciencesAustralia

Academic appointment

Dates

Title

Organisation / Department

1/07/1997 - 1/09/2003

Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy

Coventry UniversitySchool of Health and Social SciencesAustralia

Membership

Dates

Title

Organisation / Department

1/01/2011 -

Membership - Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists

Canadian Association of Occupational TherapistsAustralia

1/01/2010 -

Membership - Occupational Therapy Australia

Occupational Therapy AustraliaAustralia

Teaching

Code

Course

Role

Duration

OCCT4172

Researching and Developing an Occupational Therapy InterventionUniversity of Newcastle - Faculty of Health and MedicineThis is a year 4 course designed to meet the AQF requirements for our Non-Classified Honours program. It allows a student to research and design an occupation-based intervention using evidence-based research.&nbsp;

Lecturer in Occupational Therapy

24/02/2015 - 19/08/2015

OCCT1201

Introduction to Occupational Therapy Practice Skills (University of Newcastle - Faculty of Health and MedicineThis course introduces occupational therapy students to the skills needed in practice. It includes a 2 week introductory practice education experience in a health or social care industry placement.&nbsp;

Course Co-odinator/Lecturer in Occupational Therapy

27/07/2010 - 19/08/2015

OCCT1110

Introduction to Occupational TherapyUniversity of Newcastle - Faculty of Health and MedicineThis is a year one foundational course designed to provide new students with an understanding of occupational therapy, and the theories which underpin practice. It introduces students to the use of case-based working and to review their own occupational lives.

Aim: The aim of this analysis is to establish if dietitians have the knowledge, skills and attitude to provide support to other health professional (HP) groups in the provision of... [more]

Aim: The aim of this analysis is to establish if dietitians have the knowledge, skills and attitude to provide support to other health professional (HP) groups in the provision of weight management advice to overweight/obese patients. Methods: A secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional survey of HPs was undertaken to perform a gap analysis with regard to practices, knowledge, confidence and attitudes in the provision of weight management advice. Survey responses and additional measures (practice, knowledge, confidence and attitude scores) were compared between dietitians and other HPs. Descriptive statistics were undertaken, and differences between group Â¿2 tests were performed for nominal data and the Wilcoxon rank sum test for ordinal and non-parametric data. Results: About 100% of dietitians had received initial weight management training and 85% had participated in professional development training, compared with 18 and 19% of HPs, respectively, although 70% believed it was within their scope of practice to provide evidence-based advice. Dietitian respondents achieved a higher median score (maximum 10) in the following areas (practice = 6.5, knowledge = 8.0, confidence = 8.3) when compared with HP respondents (practice = 4.2, knowledge = 7.0, confidence = 5.4). The median attitude score for both groups was 6.0. Conclusions: HPs are receptive to providing evidence-based weight loss messages to overweight/obese clients in their current practice. However, weight management training is required to enhance HPs' knowledge and skills in order to increase confidence and improve practice skills. Dietitians can assist HPs to ensure that clear, consistent, evidence-based messages are delivered to overweight clients throughout the health-care system.

Aim: The aim of this analysis is to establish if dietitians have the knowledge, skills and attitude to provide support to other health professional (HP) groups in the provision of... [more]

Aim: The aim of this analysis is to establish if dietitians have the knowledge, skills and attitude to provide support to other health professional (HP) groups in the provision of weight management advice to overweight/obese patients. Methods: A secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional survey of HPs was undertaken to perform a gap analysis with regard to practices, knowledge, confidence and attitudes in the provision of weight management advice. Survey responses and additional measures (practice, knowledge, confidence and attitude scores) were compared between dietitians and other HPs. Descriptive statistics were undertaken, and differences between group Â¿2 tests were performed for nominal data and the Wilcoxon rank sum test for ordinal and non-parametric data. Results: About 100% of dietitians had received initial weight management training and 85% had participated in professional development training, compared with 18 and 19% of HPs, respectively, although 70% believed it was within their scope of practice to provide evidence-based advice. Dietitian respondents achieved a higher median score (maximum 10) in the following areas (practice = 6.5, knowledge = 8.0, confidence = 8.3) when compared with HP respondents (practice = 4.2, knowledge = 7.0, confidence = 5.4). The median attitude score for both groups was 6.0. Conclusions: HPs are receptive to providing evidence-based weight loss messages to overweight/obese clients in their current practice. However, weight management training is required to enhance HPs' knowledge and skills in order to increase confidence and improve practice skills. Dietitians can assist HPs to ensure that clear, consistent, evidence-based messages are delivered to overweight clients throughout the health-care system.

Background/aim: Practice education is a compulsory component of all entry-level programmes in the health professions. It is used as a teaching strategy to connect theoretical know... [more]

Background/aim: Practice education is a compulsory component of all entry-level programmes in the health professions. It is used as a teaching strategy to connect theoretical knowledge, such as occupation-focussed models with practice. The study aimed to explore students' perceptions about the influence of practice educators on their understanding of the use of occupation-focussed models in practice. Methods: Using a phenomenological approach, semi-structured interviews gained an understanding of six participants' experiences of their practice education. Interview transcripts were analysed thematically. Findings: Three themes emerged from participants' experiences of practice education. 'Explaining the theory-practice nexus' referred to participants' difficulties in distinguishing between different forms of theoretical knowledge, it described educators struggle to fulfil the dual roles of educator and practitioner' when articulating the theoretical knowledge underpinning practice. This often led participants taking an active role in their own learning. 'Experiencing dissonance between university-based studies and the real-world' described the difference between the importance university studies placed on theory in comparison to practice. 'Creating a positive mindset for the use of theoretical knowledge in practice for future practice' illustrated strategies used by some practice educators to articulate the use of theoretical knowledge. Conclusions: The study highlighted practice educators role in shaping students' perceptions of theoretical knowledge use in professional reasoning. The increased recognition of practice educators on the implicit curricula creates an onus on the university sector to provide discussion and information exchanges to increase educators' opportunities to develop, update and increase their skills in describing and using theoretical knowledge to underpin practice.